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Tyler Gaffney is a very lucky elite athlete.
The former Stanford star, who was drafted by the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates and the NFL NFL Panthers, was drafted into the 49ers practice squad last week, the final leg of a unique athletic course.
It included zero regular-season NFL snapshots, one minor-league baseball season, two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, and three knee surgeries.
It’s a weird resume. Unsurprisingly, 29-year-old Gaffney couldn’t have considered going that route when he was in Palo Alto.
“Life is a funny thing,” Gaffney said. “And it doesn’t always work the way you word it.”
It’s funny that Gaffney is back in the NFL.
He quietly retired in 2017, while recovering from his third knee surgery, but returned last week after tries with Houston and Washington because he wanted to play in a regular season game.
Of course, Gaffney wants to do more than just play a cinch. But that would be a start. And it would be a triumph.
“Unfinished business has kind of been the motto,” Gaffney said. “You don’t dream of almost getting there.”
On Jan. 1, 2014, Gaffney finished his senior season with 1,709 yards and 21 touchdowns rushing for 91 yards and one touchdown in Stanford’s Rose Bowl loss to Michigan State.
Three months later, he was caught in the sixth round of the NFL Draft by the Panthers after, at 220 pounds, running the 40-yard scorecard in 4.49 seconds on the combine.
However, Gaffney’s painful path was announced almost immediately. He tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee during his first training camp training with the Panthers. A consolation prize: He was claimed for waivers by the Patriots and won a Super Bowl ring on the injured reserve.
However, in 2015, when training camp started with the Patriots, he suffered the same left knee injury.
In 2016, his only healthy season in the NFL, he spent time on the New England practice squad and active roster, but was never active for a game in a season that s ‘ended with another Super Bowl ring.
Finally, in 2017, playing for the Jaguars in a preseason game against the Patriots, he suffered his third, non-contact lateral meniscus tear, which ended the season in three years.
“I didn’t know what to do with myself,” Gaffney said. “I was at Disneyland in a wheelchair with my son on my lap and I was like, ‘What am I going to do? The emotional part got the best of me.
It helped that Gaffney was the rare NFL player who could try his hand at another professional sport.
In 2018, the outfielder, selected in the 24th round by the Pirates in 2012, returned to baseball. He split the season between the Pittsburgh Double-A team in Altoona, Pa., And their Class A affiliate in Bradenton, Fla., Hitting .244 with six homers and 36 RBIs despite a six-year layoff. .
Gaffney, who is married with two sons, Jaxon, 4, and Conway, 2, was then 27 and considering other factors beyond his athletic career.
“I had to be thinking, ‘If I got a salary in the major leagues and did the same, would I be happy? Gaffney said. “And I thought the answer was ‘No’.
“It’s 140 games over 160 days. You are never home because even in home games you are at the stadium at 11 am… I decided that was not the best choice for my family. So I finished the year and decided: ‘See you later.’ “
But Gaffney, a self-proclaimed fitness freak, couldn’t give up the sport.
He briefly played for the San Diego Legion, a Major League Rugby team, competed in Spartan, CrossFit races and often worked with current and former NFL players in Southern California.
He served as a catcher for a group of quarterbacks that included Kevin Hogan, who played at Stanford and was looking for a job in the NFL.
“They send their movie to the NFL teams and some coaches who have seen their movie saw a receiver – that was me – and were like, ‘Who is this? “Gaffney said.” Long story short, I had a few tries this year. And here we are. “
Gaffney is now in Glendale, Ariz., Where the 49ers will end their season on Sunday against the Seahawks. However, he’s not sure if his end-of-season signing is the start of something or, perhaps, his final step in professional sports.
If it’s the end, the double major at Stanford (psychology, sociology) will have options. Gaffney has worked in commercial and residential real estate and is the co-founder of Avantera Health, which sells supplements and promotes healthy living.
Now, however, Gaffney is focused on football, hoping to end a career that doesn’t include any clichés without regrets.
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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